Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, Reappointed Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy
October 6, 2017
To:Faculty, Students and Staff
From:J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
Jon Epstein, MD
Re: Reappointment of Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, as Chair, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy
We are pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Ezekiel (Zeke) Emanuel for a second six-year term as Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy. The reappointment follows a review process that included an extensive self-study, followed by an internal committee review and an external review by three leaders in the field.
Established in 2011, the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy is focused on some of the most important issues facing academic medicine and is uniquely positioned to support research and education in these areas. The Department's distinguished faculty produce and disseminate scholarship and lead three bioethics master’s degree programs. In addition to their own projects, faculty members supervise research being carried out by undergraduates, graduate students, medical students, doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows.
Dr. Emanuel, along with the chiefs of the Department’s Health Policy and Medical Ethics Divisions (Kevin Volpp and Steve Joffee, respectively) have overseen substantial growth of the faculty over the past six years. The review affirmed that they have recruited a talented cadre of junior faculty with significant potential for academic success and advancement.
On this strong foundation, there is substantial opportunity for the Department to excel over the next six years. Recently, for instance, the Department launched the Master of Health Care Innovation, an online master’s program aiming to train future leaders in health policy, administration, and ethics. Its Master’s in Bioethics (MBE) program remains one of the best in the country. The Department is now poised to develop stronger linkages among Health Policy researchers across Penn Medicine and the University. We look forward to working with Dr. Emanuel during his second term to develop plans that build on the Department’s manifest strengths, and ask that you join us in congratulating him on his reappointment.